John Stewart
The first Earth Green Lantern, but the second known publicly, was John Stewart. He was recruited by Abin Sur and trained for ten years, before returning shortly after Abin Sur's death. He became a founding member of the Justice League. Powers & Abilities John Stewart possessed no innate superhuman abilities, apart perhaps from a nearly-indomitable will. He was also unfailingly honest and virtually without fear. These qualities made him an ideal candidate for membership in the Green Lantern Corps. John's military experience provided him with a strong grasp of tactics, and made him a formidable combatant--armed or unarmed. Equipment Like all members of the Green Lantern Corps, John Stewart was issued a Power Ring and a lantern-shaped Power Battery. Thus equipped, John was extraordinarily well-prepared for the mission of maintaining order within his assigned space sector. History John Stewart left home to enlist in the United States Marine Corps at a fairly young age. Relatively little is known of John's military service, save that he met and befriended Rex Mason (who would once again serve with John as the Justice Leaguer Metamorpho) during that time. After leaving the service, John Stewart was selected by the Guardians of the Universe to join the Green Lantern Corps. Early in his Corps career, John would train under the veteran Green Lantern Katma Tui. As Sector 2814 (in which Earth was located) was already under the protection of Green Lantern Abin Sur, John was eventually reassigned to another space sector. It was only several years later--following Abin Sur's demise at the hands of Sinestro--that John would return to his home sector. Abin Sur's designated successor, Kyle Rayner, would himself require training before being assigned a sector of his own. John Stewart was therefore sent to stand guard over Sector 2814, while Kyle Rayner was sent to Katma Tui for training. Not long after John's homecoming, he would answer the fateful summons to join six other heroes in opposing the Imperium invasion. In the aftermath of that crisis, John readily agreed to Superman's suggestion that the seven heroes band together as the Justice League. John was the focal point of one of the League's earliest missions. A detachment of Manhunter Robots were sent to Earth to take John into custody, to answer charges of inadvertently destroying an inhabited world. The League followed, ready to stand up for their comrade despite John's insistence that he be held accountable for his actions. The League was able to prove that John was innocent, and that the entire situation had been engineered by the Manhunters as part of a plot to exact revenge upon their former masters--the Guardians. John continued to serve with distinction in the Justice League, forming a strong bond with his comrades. In particular, John grew closer to Hawkgirl; although the two clashed at first, their shared military/police backgrounds provided common ground, and in time the two became romantically involved. This romantic attachment would be shattered by the Thanagarian invasion. Hawkgirl's apparent treachery all but broke John's heart. Despite this, John remained with the Justice League through its expansion--although he at one point appealed, unsuccessfully, to the Guardians for reassignment. As one of the founding members of the League, John served as a voice of leadership within the organization throughout some of its most trying times, including the Cadmus crisis and the ongoing conflict with Grodd's Legion of Doom. Personality John Stewart is at heart a professional soldier, a man of duty. He takes his roles as a protector of Earth, a member of the Green Lantern Corps, and a founding member of the Justice League with the utmost seriousness. At times this has led him into conflict with comrades like the Flash or Supergirl, who do not appear to share this serious attitude. His sense of responsibility is beyond reproach, as seen during his trial in the Ajuris system; John believes that beings entrusted with great power must be held accountable for their actions. John's long absence from his homeworld has left him with some difficulty fitting into normal Earth society, but his experiences with the Justice League have helped him to deal with this to some degree. Compared to some Green Lanterns (such as Katma Tui, who has taken him to task on the matter), John tends to be fairly straightforward in the use of his Power Ring, eschewing complicated or innovative ring-constructs in favor of simple beam-blasts or defensive barriers. John's simple, efficient approach is likely a result of his military training. Beneath John's hard-nosed military exterior, there remains a certain (and normally well-hidden) streak of playfulness and sentimentality. On the rare occasions he allows himself to let his guard down, he is not above using his Power Ring to play in the snow, fondly recalling the comic-book heroes of his youth, or even admitting to a certain weakness for the film Old Yeller. Love Interests As noted above, John entered into a relationship with Hawkgirl which came to a sudden end with the Thanagarian invasion. He would later form a relationship with fellow League member Vixen, which was complicated somewhat by the former Hawkgirl's return to active service with the League. A meeting with his and Shayera's future son, Warhawk, has done little to alleviate John's conflicted feelings. Carter Hall's interest in Shayera hasn't helped much, either. External Links *Green Lantern at Wikipedia **John Stewart at Wikipedia *John Stewart (JL Bio) at the World's Finest **John Stewart (JLU Bio) Category:Superheroes Category:Justice League members Stewart, John